My Road to Damascus Castle Forbes Cedarwood & Sandalwood Shaving Cream
I have never hidden my admiration for the Castle Forbes brand, they are known throughout the world for their high-quality shaving creams, balms and Eau de Parfums.
Lime & 1445
Like most, I was first smitten by their Lime Shaving Cream, its scent reminding me of Opal Fruits sweets when I was a young boy, then I bought 1445 Shaving Cream, it was the complex scent of ferns, grasses, lavender, lemon and bitter orange that made it one of my firm favourites.
Lavender & Sandalwood
I had always avoided Lavender and Cedarwood & Sandalwood because I assumed Lavender would remind me of old ladies and talcum powder and the Cedarwood & Sandalwood was way too strongly scented for me, in fact, I remember telling a customer it reminded me of the smell from a full ashtray!
On a recommendation from a customer, I bought Lavender Shaving Cream and I’ve been recommending to customers ever since especially to men with sensitive skin and ladies who ask for recommendations. Lavender oil is one of natures great healers as it has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and as this shaving cream includes lavender essential oil in its ingredients it is a great choice for people who suffer post-shave irritation. The scent is not old lady’s talcum powder, instead, it is punchy and herbaceous and full of life.
Onto Cedarwood & Sandalwood, Bert from Motherwell mentioned in a product review that it’s the very best shaving cream he has ever used he said it’s even better than our own brand Bay Rum and Citrus Kiss, he mentioned the woody scent as being strong, masculine and muscular (his words not mine), he raved about the lather being lush and creamier than clotted cream!
On the basis of Bert’s review I took the plunge and bought one, thinking if I don’t get on with it I’ll unload it to my brother, after all, he refuses nothing but blows.
My Results
I first used it on Saturday 1st May and I’ve been using it more or less daily ever since, I won’t part with it, the scent has grown on me and I now love it, it is indeed as Bert says woody and strong, it reminds me of the woodworking department where I served my engineering apprenticeship, a real blast from the past. It’s the cedarwood that gives this shaving cream its distinctive scent, cedarwood has a more earthy base note than sandalwood and it’s this base note that makes it what it is. No matter how pleasingly intoxicating a scent is, for this to be an all-time great shaving cream it must perform, and this cream does that and more in bucket loads. Everything I need is present, the lather is so rich that when I first paint it onto my face and neck it can be sticky, a quick addition of water teases it out into a rich emulsion like lather that protects the skin while you shave.
Like all Castle Forbes shaving creams, when you think you need to add more cream to the brush for a final pass, stop – don’t. Instead, dip the brush in water and what lather is left in the brush takes on a new lease of life, it is true that a 200ml tub of Castle Forbes shaving cream will last at least 6-months daily shaving, more if you’re careful.
Final few words, life is too short not to try this shaving cream, it is perfect.